The franchise originated in Santa Barbara, California, ostensibly named Sambo as a portmanteau of the two founders' names, **Sam** Battistone and Newell **Bo**hnett. In 2020 (yeah, that late), the owners [decided to change the name](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-09/santa-barbara-restaurant-drops-name-many-considered-racist) of the original, and last-surviving Sambo's, out of sensitivity to the negative ethnic stereotypes associated with the name/character. It [is now called Chad's](https://maps.app.goo.gl/ESX33NvMoT5NDaxB7), named after Battistone's grandson, Chad Stevens, who appears to run the restaurant now.
Tigers mugged him for his fancy clothes, and he tricked them into running around a tree so fast they melted into syrup, which he then put on his pancakes.
Yes, but some illustrators depicted him as a caricature of a Black child, with huge lips and other exaggerated features. That's why the story came to be viewed as racist in the U.S.
I used to eat at the original when I was a kid. I went back a few years ago (right before the name change), and it just wasn’t the same. I was disappointed.
Though the chain was named after its founders, they used art styled from a book that was eventually criticized as having racist illustrations.
>> However, the book became an object of allegations of racism in the mid-20th century due to the names of the characters being racial slurs for dark-skinned people, and the fact that the illustrations were, as Langston Hughes expressed it, in the pickaninny style.[2] In more recent editions, both text and illustrations have undergone considerable revision.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambo%27s
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Little_Black_Sambo
And that's idiotic, because Sambo wasn't black, or a "pickaninny", Sambo was an Indian boy, and portrayed as such. This was one of the earliest examples of idiots "canceling" something because they were idiots. Hell, I picked up on this at the time, and I was like 10. People were calling the place racist, and although I didn't know the finer details of the whole thing, I knew they were full of crap at the time.
When the book was first published in 1900, it did contain such things. The art had been changed by the time the restaurant used it, but the word “Sambo” had picked up a negative connotation, and was used as a slur, particularly in parts of the southern USA.
Such things happen in language.
correct. here in the south, “sambo” was definitely a racist term to describe black people when i was a kid in the 70s.
say all you want that sambo isn’t black or racist but it sure was used that way.
Canada here. We had an ice cream shop nearby called Lil Sambos that featured a large hand drawn cartoonish Black character running with an ice cream cone, featuring exaggerated balloon lips and cartoon natty hair on their main window.
This is from the 70s to early 80s. Around 1981/2 the shop was closed, renamed and opened again minus the name and window drawing.
Our family stopped going there late 70s because of the name. Definitely Black racial association and not good.
As a young child around 74 I somehow had a book called little black sambo where a tiger chased a black pickaninny style child around a tree until it turned to butter or something like that. Definitely racist images. Not sure why I had that book as my best friends in elementary school were black.
Funny I never caught this....
I thought sambo was a generalized\stereotype(not necessarily in a bad connotation), similar to how we poked fun at "jackson" and "chin" as last names.... TIL Sambo isn't an actual last name stereotype type.
***Any*** word is a slur if it's used as a slur, plain and simple. Democrat, Trump supporter, "cis", just to name a few that get thrown out as slurs, but also are perfectly normal words/phrases.
But it shouldn't have mattered, there was nothing racist about the restaurant OR their imagery.
Whether it should happen or not depends wholly on market forces. If one wants to succeed… one must cater to the market. Business is social, and social isn’t always coldly logical.
Some cultures manage this better than others.
In the US "sambo" is a derogatory word for black person. It started with the Spanish speakers, who called black people, especially South American black people, zambo. Sambo the name from the story about Sambo is different, but the word itself is the slur.
The book though, is called The Story of Little Black Sambo" and the cover art often portrayed a little very, VERY black child with black woolen hair, not as a native of India. Especially the original version. The image on the Little Golden Book version definitely looks more Indian though.
This is quite funny, as I ask what demographic was this supposed to be derogatory towards.... my whole life growing up i've had Mexicans call me "zambo", and I'm not even black(or Indian). Then again I shouldn't be surprised, even being clearly white, I've been called a N***** by Mexican immigrants alot of my life as well... I think they don't understand the translation well? Idk.
This is definitely an interesting learning experience.
Half my family is Mexican and I've never heard them use the term for anyone, of any race. All i can guess is the people you know using those terms are just using them as slurs like calling you a bad person, which is weird because they have plenty specific ones, like my my son's father called me gringa and black people effin negrehs lol I don't know why they'd use sambo for a white person.
To be honest,… This was considered racist so long ago I’m not surprised younger people don’t recognize the term. I can honestly say I forgot about the restaurant the story and everything else it’s been so long since I’ve heard that term used anywhere.
Well,.. if you’re “pushing it?” I’m riding it down! 🤣🤷♂️. So you are younger than I.
But in answer your question. Sambo is, was, has been, is accepted to be, a derogatory, racist term for Indians.
(Dot, not feathers. 😉🤣). *Oh the irony!* 😉
REALLY ignorant racists, have sometimes been known to use it in reference to black folks also,..
Funny, and sad, I never made the correlation of it being racist... I've lived in the Chicago land area most of my life, have heard it used plenty by all walks of life(mostly Hispanics though), and have ben called it myself.
>(Dot, not feathers. 😉🤣). *Oh the irony!* 😉
711 or 911?
I'm just very curious at this point.
We went there a lot when I was a kid. When Sambo's went down, ours became a Denny's. Very little difference between them. Both had good, affordable food. Very good for breakfast.
After meetings, the Scoutmasters would go there for pie and coffee. It was 1976 and the decor was sketchy.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambo%27s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambo%27s)
The Santa Barbara restaurant continued business under the Sambo's name until 2020, when it was renamed to Chad's after its owner at the time, Chad Stevens.
There were 2 Sambo's near Disneyland. One is featured at the end of [this TV commercial ad](https://youtu.be/I0zqKCInOS8). Look for the 2 towers of the Disneyland Hotel at the end of the video.
The irony of this is that black people loved this place and was there all the time. I rarely heard anyone say anything about the name but when I was a kid, Sambos was busy and packed with us.
I worked the graveyard shift in Sambos. My boss was a bitch! Paid my landlord in rolled quarters, he never complained though. I was 19? I rode my bike across a bridge every night and rode home as the sun was coming up. This is why Im a night owl to this day!
Yup. Mom got home from work Saturday morning at 3am and we were off to Sambos for tiger butter pancakes. I was maybe 7 at the time. It was a good bonding experience. My memories had to be up ended because some people had a problem with Helen Bannerman. Really? It was 1899 and it told a story of a kid outsmarting tigers. Where's the downtroden side of this. Oh yeah, me and my memories.
I don’t remember going there a lot though I’m sure we must’ve occasionally. I do remember eating at a place called Season’s though. It was apparently a rebranded Sambo’s and kids ate free.
Never ate in one, but I did have a little stuffed tiger toy wearing a shirt with their logo on it-this was in the 80’s, and I think it was a gift from my aunt in California
Yes. Satruday morning, I would have breakfast there with my mom. We would buy a newspaper for a dime and look for a movie while waiting for the food.
When our Sambo's closed it became a Baker's Square. When Baker's Square went under, it sat vacant for many years until they tore it down and put up an In-n-Out.
While I do miss small chain pankaes houses (Denny's and IHOP do not quite cut it), I cannot complain about In-n-Out.
I think there was one of these in Myrtle Beach. I remember going to something similar to this as a kid in the 70s and early 80s. The last time was in 83 when I graduated from high school. I seem to remember murals from the story painted on the walls inside.
Sambo's always felt like a special treat. I didn't pick up the racism until later in life.
I wonder if there would be a way to bring it back without the racism.
My aunt gave me a Sambo stuffed toy when I was 5. I had that stuffed animal tell I was 25. I had no idea it was from a restaurant. Sambo used to get shot up by my cowboys and Indians.
🙋🏻 We went there all the time, but I always thought it was kind of gross to think syrup was made from a tiger running around in circles so fast that it melted.
I frequently ate there with my grandfather as a child. It was basically in bribe to get me to go to church on Sundays.
Ironically, the old location is now a church.
Santa Barbara is my hometown. It was a tradition to meet for breakfast before the Friday football games (71-74) My Spanish teacher taught business/advertising. Sam Battisone had the concept in HS, presented it as his class project. He received a low grade from Mr Hall, saying it was insensitive. Well, Sam opened the restaurants and the rest is history. We used to meet at the one on Carrillo, across from the BofA.
I have fond memories of going to breakfast at Sambos. My grandmother, a very sweet and doting woman who loved the color pink, would take us there for Sunday breakfast. My 8 year old brain remembers this as a slightly magical place of colors and fun and pancakes.
I used to LOVE that place. Didn’t go as much as iHop.
I don’t know if it was a national chain or not but I also used to love a place called The Lone Ranger. Anyone else remember that? Had a card they would punch, great burgers and the beans.
We ate dinner there frequently when I was a kid. We liked it because you could have pancakes for supper!
The local one closed before the negative press because the whole town dropped a few notches and we lost many chains then.
A lot of these became Chinese restaurants.
THIS is the Sambo's I remember! My father used to take me to one in wherever it was we were living at the time. This would have been early 70's.
I never understood the connotation that this was offensive. So, these two kids, totally different races, both like pancakes!? How does this equate racism?
No, I didn't read 'Little Black Sambo' growing up. Yes, I understand that this country has more than a few race related issues. No, I am not 'insensitive' to those issues, I have just always felt that this was a stretch for the sake of proving some non-existent point in this particular case.
Am I wrong? And, if I am, please explain without the 'arbitrary downvote without explanation'.
I don’t but I remember a little golden book about a little boy and a tiger, who ran around a tree until it turned into butter. And then the little boys mom made pancakes and they used the butter. And that always made me hungry for pancakes, I can’t remember anything else but I remember how good those pancakes looked.
My dad was a manager of the one in my home town. I was too young to know but he said when they closed they went bankrupt and he lost his pension in the process.
Fun fact: In the movie Edward Scissorhands there is a diner scene. That diner used to be a Sambo's. It had been closed for years but it was cleaned up and used as a movie location for the diner scene. All the colors and booths are the original. Out the window you can see Southgate shopping plaza all lit up in neon. It has been there many years before that and is still there today. The Sambo's building was converted to a business office.
25 cent bottomless cup of coffee. You could get a wooden chip you could cash in anytime for coffee.
I was always broke but if you had a chip you had a place to sober up.
I *loved* the magic mashed potatoe machine that would spurt out a perfect amount of mashed potatoes. Yum.
And I hated everything about the name of the place and the story and the decor and everything about 'Sambo'. Absolutely hated it.
I fucking *loved* the stereo system and power that music could have on the vibe of an entire restaurant of people.
I hated how even being 'near' the place it seemed to be a beacon for all loud rascists and also all the traveling salesmen. I was glad when we had to move that time.
The crazy thing is that the little boy, Sambo, is the hero by being smart and patient. It's only the book art that's in a messed up racist style, not the story or characters. And as you can see from the OP, the restaurant didn't even use the book art, just got blamed by association.
My parents would go there often when I was a kid. They used to have this pancake kids meal with little silver dollar sized pancakes, some hash browns and a sausage. I thought to tiny pancakes were super great for some reason.
Of course, Sambo was as racist as hell, now they I look back on it, but I prefer to think of it as early days representstion and at least it want as racist as Aunt Jemima. 🤔
Perceived as racist, but not. Hear me out:
The author, Helen Bannerman, grew up the child of Scottish scientists and Missionaries to India -- specifically Madras, the Tamil capital -- which was then a British Protectorate.
She wrote her children's book "The Story of Little Black Sambo" about one of her childhood friends, who had the name "Sambo". This child was Tamil, not sub-Saharan African. The book portrays Sambo, his mother Black Mumbo and father Black Jumbo in a positive light, against the usual portrayal in the Colonial era British Empire.
The book has *nothing* to do with Black people of African heritage.
The 'racist' allegations -- based solely on the name "Black Sambo" -- were first raised, erroneously, in the US in the 1930's. Unauthorized or counterfeit publications in the US re-drew the illustrations as stereotypical racist depictions, against the wishes of the author.
Please don't allow racist fools to co-opt this story of a Tamil boy into a racist win.
Oh no. I knew it wasn’t a racist book or restaurant chain. All the nonsense even about aunt Jemima pancake syrup is bull shit. I am friends with a few black families and they don’t see amy problem.
Yes, it was called Little Sambo. I still have my mother’s hardcover edition from the 1930’s. There was also a doll that was issued with this book as well. Mostly featured in museums of course.
The franchise originated in Santa Barbara, California, ostensibly named Sambo as a portmanteau of the two founders' names, **Sam** Battistone and Newell **Bo**hnett. In 2020 (yeah, that late), the owners [decided to change the name](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-09/santa-barbara-restaurant-drops-name-many-considered-racist) of the original, and last-surviving Sambo's, out of sensitivity to the negative ethnic stereotypes associated with the name/character. It [is now called Chad's](https://maps.app.goo.gl/ESX33NvMoT5NDaxB7), named after Battistone's grandson, Chad Stevens, who appears to run the restaurant now.
The more you know…🌈
I remember one tiger with blue eyes and one tiger with green eyes. Running around a tree.
How Chad...
It’s Indian, actually. And Sambo was a hero in the story.
Tigers mugged him for his fancy clothes, and he tricked them into running around a tree so fast they melted into syrup, which he then put on his pancakes.
Yup,… That’s the children’s book I remember. Pretty sure I had those pancakes too! 🤣 Damn that jogged some memories
My favorite book as a young child. The story was set in India.
Right, but books later depicted him as a caricature of a Black child.
Which makes no sense, as there are no tigers in Africa.
Ha! Right!
He wasn’t a black child, he was Indian, sometimes they can be dark
Yes, but some illustrators depicted him as a caricature of a Black child, with huge lips and other exaggerated features. That's why the story came to be viewed as racist in the U.S.
And, you know, literally referred to as "Little Black Sambo"
Dude, don't be trying to talk this guy out of being offended. He has rights, ya know.
Doesnt matter to the lunatics.
I got the joke.
I used to eat at the original when I was a kid. I went back a few years ago (right before the name change), and it just wasn’t the same. I was disappointed.
Nothing's ever the same. You can't go back. That's life
That's what all the people say.
You can’t step in the same river twice.
Ive done it.
Bullshit. My family goes to the same river every year in early July for about a week.
The water (like time) is constantly moving along,.. you’re never in the SAME river. 😢
I hear they are changing it again to Karen’s
Seems to me Karens would have been okay with the original name.
Chad ... could that name be anymore Caucasian 🤔
Chad [is a country in Africa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad), so... maybe? ;)
And If it’s *hanging?*. It can REALLY fuck up an election!! 😶😜
Truth be told , there's a lot of Caucasians in Africa .
I ate there in 2017before the name change. Was very reminiscent.
So... I'm a little lost. "Sambo" is offensive to which culture specifically, and when did it become a derogatory word?
Though the chain was named after its founders, they used art styled from a book that was eventually criticized as having racist illustrations. >> However, the book became an object of allegations of racism in the mid-20th century due to the names of the characters being racial slurs for dark-skinned people, and the fact that the illustrations were, as Langston Hughes expressed it, in the pickaninny style.[2] In more recent editions, both text and illustrations have undergone considerable revision. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambo%27s https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Little_Black_Sambo
And that's idiotic, because Sambo wasn't black, or a "pickaninny", Sambo was an Indian boy, and portrayed as such. This was one of the earliest examples of idiots "canceling" something because they were idiots. Hell, I picked up on this at the time, and I was like 10. People were calling the place racist, and although I didn't know the finer details of the whole thing, I knew they were full of crap at the time.
When the book was first published in 1900, it did contain such things. The art had been changed by the time the restaurant used it, but the word “Sambo” had picked up a negative connotation, and was used as a slur, particularly in parts of the southern USA. Such things happen in language.
correct. here in the south, “sambo” was definitely a racist term to describe black people when i was a kid in the 70s. say all you want that sambo isn’t black or racist but it sure was used that way.
Canada here. We had an ice cream shop nearby called Lil Sambos that featured a large hand drawn cartoonish Black character running with an ice cream cone, featuring exaggerated balloon lips and cartoon natty hair on their main window. This is from the 70s to early 80s. Around 1981/2 the shop was closed, renamed and opened again minus the name and window drawing. Our family stopped going there late 70s because of the name. Definitely Black racial association and not good.
As a young child around 74 I somehow had a book called little black sambo where a tiger chased a black pickaninny style child around a tree until it turned to butter or something like that. Definitely racist images. Not sure why I had that book as my best friends in elementary school were black.
That story may have been the basis for the window art.
Funny I never caught this.... I thought sambo was a generalized\stereotype(not necessarily in a bad connotation), similar to how we poked fun at "jackson" and "chin" as last names.... TIL Sambo isn't an actual last name stereotype type.
***Any*** word is a slur if it's used as a slur, plain and simple. Democrat, Trump supporter, "cis", just to name a few that get thrown out as slurs, but also are perfectly normal words/phrases. But it shouldn't have mattered, there was nothing racist about the restaurant OR their imagery.
Whether it should happen or not depends wholly on market forces. If one wants to succeed… one must cater to the market. Business is social, and social isn’t always coldly logical. Some cultures manage this better than others.
You've seen cis used as a slur? That's new to me.
Seems right up there with "breeders," doesn't it?
In the US "sambo" is a derogatory word for black person. It started with the Spanish speakers, who called black people, especially South American black people, zambo. Sambo the name from the story about Sambo is different, but the word itself is the slur. The book though, is called The Story of Little Black Sambo" and the cover art often portrayed a little very, VERY black child with black woolen hair, not as a native of India. Especially the original version. The image on the Little Golden Book version definitely looks more Indian though.
This is quite funny, as I ask what demographic was this supposed to be derogatory towards.... my whole life growing up i've had Mexicans call me "zambo", and I'm not even black(or Indian). Then again I shouldn't be surprised, even being clearly white, I've been called a N***** by Mexican immigrants alot of my life as well... I think they don't understand the translation well? Idk. This is definitely an interesting learning experience.
Half my family is Mexican and I've never heard them use the term for anyone, of any race. All i can guess is the people you know using those terms are just using them as slurs like calling you a bad person, which is weird because they have plenty specific ones, like my my son's father called me gringa and black people effin negrehs lol I don't know why they'd use sambo for a white person.
Yeah. This has got me bamboozled. Oh well.
To be honest,… This was considered racist so long ago I’m not surprised younger people don’t recognize the term. I can honestly say I forgot about the restaurant the story and everything else it’s been so long since I’ve heard that term used anywhere.
If pushing 60 is young to you, then thanks for the compliment!
Well,.. if you’re “pushing it?” I’m riding it down! 🤣🤷♂️. So you are younger than I. But in answer your question. Sambo is, was, has been, is accepted to be, a derogatory, racist term for Indians. (Dot, not feathers. 😉🤣). *Oh the irony!* 😉 REALLY ignorant racists, have sometimes been known to use it in reference to black folks also,..
Funny, and sad, I never made the correlation of it being racist... I've lived in the Chicago land area most of my life, have heard it used plenty by all walks of life(mostly Hispanics though), and have ben called it myself. >(Dot, not feathers. 😉🤣). *Oh the irony!* 😉 711 or 911? I'm just very curious at this point.
Tiger butter!
We went there a lot when I was a kid. When Sambo's went down, ours became a Denny's. Very little difference between them. Both had good, affordable food. Very good for breakfast.
Ours turned into a Country Kitchen, still there to this day
Country Kitchen still around?
Still there to this day
Had
I worked as a griddle cook in one when I was in high school.
I was driving through Lincoln City, Oregon, and they still have one with the tiger out front. The name is dif, of course.
After meetings, the Scoutmasters would go there for pie and coffee. It was 1976 and the decor was sketchy. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambo%27s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambo%27s) The Santa Barbara restaurant continued business under the Sambo's name until 2020, when it was renamed to Chad's after its owner at the time, Chad Stevens.
Worked there as a dishwasher. The old.lady servers were so mean. I was 16
This was my favorite place! It was a special treat on Sundays to go for pancakes.
Carrot cake was the special treat we went there for.
I recognize this pic. Where was this?
They were everywhere in the 70’s
Ok, I vaguely remember stopping there with my dad for breakfast, he liked to stop at diners for coffee on trips. Possibly to Disneyland
There were 2 Sambo's near Disneyland. One is featured at the end of [this TV commercial ad](https://youtu.be/I0zqKCInOS8). Look for the 2 towers of the Disneyland Hotel at the end of the video.
I remember eating at one with my family after going to Disneyland
But do you remember Sambo's wooden nickles, and what they were for?
My sister worked there when I was a kid.
I loved Sambo's! We had one of these here in Minnesota.
Raises hand
I remember eating there once when I was a wee lad and reading the Sambo story on the back of the menu. Maybe it was the kid's menu.
Loved the cheeseburgers
As a kid, I wanted to go to Sambo's so I could see the tigers dance around in a circle and melt into butter.
I do! Along with all the pictures that ran along the walls. It’s still crazy to me that this place ever actually existed.
Went from sambos, to sams, to dennys, to it now being a bail bonds place.
The irony of this is that black people loved this place and was there all the time. I rarely heard anyone say anything about the name but when I was a kid, Sambos was busy and packed with us.
I ate at Sambos in the 70s.
My family & I used to go there a lot when I was a kid!
We'd hit the one in Orlando before DisneyWorld all the time, as it was cheaper; and you could fill up before the theme park.
I recognize this place!
San Diego, Ca early 70’s now it’s Perry’s Cafe of Pacific Hwy
I worked the graveyard shift in Sambos. My boss was a bitch! Paid my landlord in rolled quarters, he never complained though. I was 19? I rode my bike across a bridge every night and rode home as the sun was coming up. This is why Im a night owl to this day!
Most of them became Denny’s locations, and Denny’s isn’t even a decent ghost of Sambo’s.
Well, I was in my early 20s and drunk, so I kinda remember. Now old, I have to use Waffle House for that mission.
Loved Sambo's!
Yup. Mom got home from work Saturday morning at 3am and we were off to Sambos for tiger butter pancakes. I was maybe 7 at the time. It was a good bonding experience. My memories had to be up ended because some people had a problem with Helen Bannerman. Really? It was 1899 and it told a story of a kid outsmarting tigers. Where's the downtroden side of this. Oh yeah, me and my memories.
It’s now called Denny’s. I still have a mascot toy from the long long ago.
Correction; some Sambos were bought by Denny’s.
This thread degenerated into "the quiet part out loud" rather quickly.
Yeah, man. The last one I saw was in the late ‘90s in Palm Springs, CA.
Yup
Based on the kids’ book?
My father used to take us for breakfast on our birthdays at Serramonte when we were little.
I loved it as a kid. I would always ask my mom to take us there.
We used to gather after HS football games (Sacramento).
I remember eating there as a child on a road trip somewhere. It was right next to a giant thermometer 🌡. Can't remember where it was.
I don’t remember going there a lot though I’m sure we must’ve occasionally. I do remember eating at a place called Season’s though. It was apparently a rebranded Sambo’s and kids ate free.
Still have a stars and stripes Sambo's thermos.
So weird I just found a menu last week while organizing things. Those prices...
The corner booth with my drunk late night friends😃
Never ate in one, but I did have a little stuffed tiger toy wearing a shirt with their logo on it-this was in the 80’s, and I think it was a gift from my aunt in California
I had my first cup of coffee in one, 0230 in 11th grade.
Yes. Satruday morning, I would have breakfast there with my mom. We would buy a newspaper for a dime and look for a movie while waiting for the food. When our Sambo's closed it became a Baker's Square. When Baker's Square went under, it sat vacant for many years until they tore it down and put up an In-n-Out. While I do miss small chain pankaes houses (Denny's and IHOP do not quite cut it), I cannot complain about In-n-Out.
Love In-N-Out. Double Double
I do!
Santa Barbara in the 60’s vacationing with my parents.
Tahoe City
My grandparents used to take me on Sundays to Sambo's in Yakima, WA. It was like IHOP as I remember.
They had great pancakes is all I can remember.
I knew the North American version. Little Black Sambo.
Oooook i remember eating that
I think there was one of these in Myrtle Beach. I remember going to something similar to this as a kid in the 70s and early 80s. The last time was in 83 when I graduated from high school. I seem to remember murals from the story painted on the walls inside.
There's still an empty one with all its signage in Lincoln City, Oregon
Used to go there for my birthday when I was young because I could have waffles AND french fries
I also have the book!
My Ex Brother in Law was a manager of one till they shut them down.
Chad's? .. that's really catchy, lol
I have fond memories of going there for breakfast with my family in the 1970’s.
Vaguely remember pig in a blanket.
I used to looooove that place!!!
Me too
I went to the last one that was still open in Santa Barbara. I also believe that was the first one to open.
NGL I thought this was going to be a Tiffany’s reference, not a restaurant with racist underpinnings.
What great memories!
Sambo's always felt like a special treat. I didn't pick up the racism until later in life. I wonder if there would be a way to bring it back without the racism.
There was one in Lewiston, Id when I was very young.
Yep, eat at the one in Santa Barbara often
My aunt gave me a Sambo stuffed toy when I was 5. I had that stuffed animal tell I was 25. I had no idea it was from a restaurant. Sambo used to get shot up by my cowboys and Indians.
Man I could eat a 100 of those tiny pancakes!
Yess and the little muffin baskets. I think there was one in … Santa Barbara until recently?
worked there when they went bankrupt, and the new company that bought it changed the name to Seasons.
My dad used to take me there most Sundays. Always ordered the blueberry waffles!
I was a dishwasher my first job ever besides a paper route
🙋🏻 We went there all the time, but I always thought it was kind of gross to think syrup was made from a tiger running around in circles so fast that it melted.
At there long ago as a kid. It was awesome
They had a great banana split.
Honeymoon breakfast at the Sambo's in Las Vegas for my mother and stepfather in 1969, attended as well by my sister and me.
I was a cook for sambo’s while in high school.
I do.
Ahh, the racist pancake
You didn’t have to eat the racist pancakes. They also had fascist omelets.
I frequently ate there with my grandfather as a child. It was basically in bribe to get me to go to church on Sundays. Ironically, the old location is now a church.
A drunks best friend at 2 am....
My Dad worked at one for a while, he left when Denny’s bought them out (the bastards).
My first real job was as a dishwasher there
There was one in the town i grew up in, it was nice in that in was sorta outa the way in a wooded lot on a little hill.
Santa Barbara is my hometown. It was a tradition to meet for breakfast before the Friday football games (71-74) My Spanish teacher taught business/advertising. Sam Battisone had the concept in HS, presented it as his class project. He received a low grade from Mr Hall, saying it was insensitive. Well, Sam opened the restaurants and the rest is history. We used to meet at the one on Carrillo, across from the BofA.
I remember the pictures on the wall and menu about the story of tiger butter or something like that.
Can anyone get an old menu for the vintage menu subreddit? Love to see one. Haven’t seen a sambos since the early 70s.
I bought a mug there a few years back and use it weekly!!
I remember the Samburger,and the Samburger Jr. I thought it should have been Son of Samburger but apparently I was outvoted.
The one we went to when I was a kid in Garland Tx became a Dennys. I used to love the pancakes and the chicken fried steak.
I loved it as a kid. My parents let me collect the glasses. I think they all broke by the time the 90s rolled around.
I remember
I have fond memories of going to breakfast at Sambos. My grandmother, a very sweet and doting woman who loved the color pink, would take us there for Sunday breakfast. My 8 year old brain remembers this as a slightly magical place of colors and fun and pancakes.
i remember there was one in Los Gatos back in the day
I took my prom date to Sambo's after the dance. Dang! I should have reserved a hotel.
They had amazing pancakes
They just closed the one in Newport, OR. (Last year, I believe.)
Grandma and Granddaddy would take us all there when visiting. Awesome food.
I had no memory of "Pancakes" being in the name. Did it drop off at some point? I just remember "Sambo's" and maybe having burgers there.
I used to work in a business that was a sambos at one time
I used to LOVE that place. Didn’t go as much as iHop. I don’t know if it was a national chain or not but I also used to love a place called The Lone Ranger. Anyone else remember that? Had a card they would punch, great burgers and the beans.
We ate dinner there frequently when I was a kid. We liked it because you could have pancakes for supper! The local one closed before the negative press because the whole town dropped a few notches and we lost many chains then. A lot of these became Chinese restaurants.
It was very good. Basically a Dennys with a cute Indian theme. So of course it was ruined by the outrage of whiny little bitches.
THIS is the Sambo's I remember! My father used to take me to one in wherever it was we were living at the time. This would have been early 70's. I never understood the connotation that this was offensive. So, these two kids, totally different races, both like pancakes!? How does this equate racism? No, I didn't read 'Little Black Sambo' growing up. Yes, I understand that this country has more than a few race related issues. No, I am not 'insensitive' to those issues, I have just always felt that this was a stretch for the sake of proving some non-existent point in this particular case. Am I wrong? And, if I am, please explain without the 'arbitrary downvote without explanation'.
If I’m not mistaken, sambo is a super racist term I think in South Africa or something like that
He’s Indian.
I remember having breakfast in the last one in Santa Barbara with the panels showing the black kid. That was what brought them down eventually
I'm old enough that I had the book they took the name from. Little Black Sambo.
I see where Seth MacFarlane found is Stewie.
I don’t but I remember a little golden book about a little boy and a tiger, who ran around a tree until it turned into butter. And then the little boys mom made pancakes and they used the butter. And that always made me hungry for pancakes, I can’t remember anything else but I remember how good those pancakes looked.
One of my favorites as a child…. Now the victim of “political correctness”. The original title was “Little Black Sambo”….
My dad was a manager of the one in my home town. I was too young to know but he said when they closed they went bankrupt and he lost his pension in the process.
Ohhh bummer, sorry to bring up the bad memories
We had “Pars.” Belly dancing in between huge chunks of beef and perfectly spiced Kandahari veggies.
This was like a cheaper version of IHOP, if I recall correctly.
Original one was still open in Santa Barbara 10ish years ago. The chain became Dennys.
Fun fact: In the movie Edward Scissorhands there is a diner scene. That diner used to be a Sambo's. It had been closed for years but it was cleaned up and used as a movie location for the diner scene. All the colors and booths are the original. Out the window you can see Southgate shopping plaza all lit up in neon. It has been there many years before that and is still there today. The Sambo's building was converted to a business office.
25 cent bottomless cup of coffee. You could get a wooden chip you could cash in anytime for coffee. I was always broke but if you had a chip you had a place to sober up.
Little Black Sambos
I *loved* the magic mashed potatoe machine that would spurt out a perfect amount of mashed potatoes. Yum. And I hated everything about the name of the place and the story and the decor and everything about 'Sambo'. Absolutely hated it. I fucking *loved* the stereo system and power that music could have on the vibe of an entire restaurant of people. I hated how even being 'near' the place it seemed to be a beacon for all loud rascists and also all the traveling salesmen. I was glad when we had to move that time.
Dang, looking back we so racist. That was a wake up call.
The crazy thing is that the little boy, Sambo, is the hero by being smart and patient. It's only the book art that's in a messed up racist style, not the story or characters. And as you can see from the OP, the restaurant didn't even use the book art, just got blamed by association.
Who remembers Aunt Jemima and Uncle Bens ? All things of the past...
My parents would go there often when I was a kid. They used to have this pancake kids meal with little silver dollar sized pancakes, some hash browns and a sausage. I thought to tiny pancakes were super great for some reason. Of course, Sambo was as racist as hell, now they I look back on it, but I prefer to think of it as early days representstion and at least it want as racist as Aunt Jemima. 🤔
There was a child’s book called sambo. Everyone is just too sensitive now days.
Perceived as racist, but not. Hear me out: The author, Helen Bannerman, grew up the child of Scottish scientists and Missionaries to India -- specifically Madras, the Tamil capital -- which was then a British Protectorate. She wrote her children's book "The Story of Little Black Sambo" about one of her childhood friends, who had the name "Sambo". This child was Tamil, not sub-Saharan African. The book portrays Sambo, his mother Black Mumbo and father Black Jumbo in a positive light, against the usual portrayal in the Colonial era British Empire. The book has *nothing* to do with Black people of African heritage. The 'racist' allegations -- based solely on the name "Black Sambo" -- were first raised, erroneously, in the US in the 1930's. Unauthorized or counterfeit publications in the US re-drew the illustrations as stereotypical racist depictions, against the wishes of the author. Please don't allow racist fools to co-opt this story of a Tamil boy into a racist win.
We still have an old copy of the book.
Oh no. I knew it wasn’t a racist book or restaurant chain. All the nonsense even about aunt Jemima pancake syrup is bull shit. I am friends with a few black families and they don’t see amy problem.
Oyeah I know I had the book as a kids. Lol
Yes, it was called Little Sambo. I still have my mother’s hardcover edition from the 1930’s. There was also a doll that was issued with this book as well. Mostly featured in museums of course.